ProductsFuel: The wood dries out moderately rapidly, burns well and is useful for firewood and charcoal, although it sparks at ignition and produces some fly ash and smoke during flaming. Its energy value is 22 600 kJ/kg. Fibre: A. crassicarpa is suitable for kraft pulping, with a moderate screened pulp yield of 47%, and excellent pulpwood productivity (300 kg per cubic metre). Fast-grown plantation wood of lower density may prove more suitable for pulp production than wood from native trees. Timber: The sapwood is pale yellowish-brown and heartwood golden-brown. The wood is strong and durable with a density of 670-710 kg/cubic metre. It is suitable for a wide range of sawn timber end-uses including light structural and decorative purposes. Examples include construction, furniture, flooring, board and boat building.

Botanic descriptionEucalyptus pellita is a medium-size to large tree, up to 40 m in height and 1 m in diameter at breast height. At its best, it has a straight trunk to about a half of the tree height and a large, heavily branched crown. The bark is rough and persistent to the small branches, shortly fibrous, shallowly to coarsely fissured, thick and brown to reddish-brown. Leaves of seedlings opposite for about 4-7 pairs then alternate, petiolate, ovate, 5-15 x 1.6-7 cm, green, discolorous; juveniles are alternate, petiolate, ovate, 14-21 x 7-8.5 cm, green, discolourous; adult leaves alternate, petiolate, usually tapered to a long, fine point, broad-lanceolate to lanceolate, 10-15 x 2-4 cm, green, strongly discolourous. Inflorescence simple, axillary, usually 7 flowered (rarely 3 or 9); penduncles broad, flattened, 1-2.5 cm long; pedicles occasionally absent, but usually stout, angular, 1-9 mm long; buds with obconical hypanthia, usually with ribs continuing from the angular pedicles, 9-21 x 6-12 mm; operculum shape very variable, generally rostrate and about 1-1.5 times the length of the hypanthium. Fruits sessile or shortly pedicellate, hemispherical to obconical, often slightly ribbed, 7-14 x 7-17 mm; disc broad, more or less level; valves usually 4, exserted; operculum scar prominent (usually broader than disk), concave. The genus Eucalyptus was described and named in 1788 by the French botanist l’Héritier. The flowers of the various Eucalyptus species are protected by an operculum, hence the generic name, from the Greek words ‘eu’ (well), and ‘calyptos’ (covered). The specific name comes from the Latin word ‘pellitus’, meaning ‘covered with a skin’, which probably refers to the epidermis of the leaves. The type description refers to the moderately thick covering. The common name refers to the fruit size in comparison with E. resinifera and E. notabilis.

Gonystylus, also known as ramin, is a southeast Asian genus of about 30 species of hardwood trees native to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea, with the highest species diversity on Borneo. Other names include melawis (Malay) and ramin telur (Sarawak).

Ramin is a medium-sized tree, attaining a height of about 24 m (80 ft) with a straight, clear (branch-free), unbuttressed bole about 18 m (60 ft) long and 60 cm (2 ft) in diameter. The trees are slow-growing, occurring mainly in swamp forests.

The white wood, harder and lighter in colour than many other hardwoods, is often used in children’s furniture, in window blinds, and for making dowels. However, over-exploitation has led to all species of ramin being listed as endangered species,[1] particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.An estimated 90% of ramin in recent international trade is illegally logged.

Ramin wood has significant commercial value and is used to make products such as furniture, toys, broom handles, blinds, dowels and decorative mouldings.

Sumatra’s peat swamp forests are important habitat for ramin trees. The Sumatran ramin tree species are CITES protected species. The logging and trade in ramin has been illegal in Indonesia since 2001. Internationally, any illegal trade in Indonesian ramin is prohibited under the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Indonesian government maps show that 800,000ha (28%) of Sumatra’s peat swamp forest was cleared between 2003 and 2009. Some 22% of this clearance was in areas currently allocated to APP’s log suppliers

WWF

Forests destroyed in the pursuit of trade

As the ramin forests themselves come under attack, the fragile ecosystems they support are also at risk. These trees provide the main habitat for other priority species such as the orangutan and the Indochinese, Sumatran and Malayan tigers.

Ramin is a valuable tropical Asian hardwood used for a variety of products including dowels, mouldings, picture frames, venetian blinds, furniture, and billiard cues. It is commercially popular because it is lighter in colour and harder than many other hardwoods.

What are the main threats?

Legal and illegal trade in ramin is the main threat posed to the future of these forests. Governments in the region have attempted to curb international trade in ramin, but illegal harvesting continues due to poor harvest management and controls.

There are particular problems with smuggling the wood through legal trade routes.

The main trading countries are Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The major importing countries are China, USA and Italy.

What is WWF doing?WWF aims to keep export volumes of ramin within levels that will ensure the species’ survival in the wild. It also assists range states in tackling illegal logging, and works to facilitate international cooperation to control the illegal trade of this tropical hardwood.

Acacia mangium is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to northeastern Queensland in Australia, the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, Papua, and the eastern Maluku Islands.[2] Common names include Black Wattle, Hickory Wattle, Mangium, and Forest Mangrove. Its uses include environmental management and wood.[1]Acacia mangium grows up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall, often with a straight trunk. This tree is widely used in Goa in the mining industry for rehabilitation of the waste dumps as it is a drought resistant species and binds the sterile mine waste consisting of lateritic strata. Like many other legumes, it is able to fix nitrogen in the soil.[3] Acacia mangium has about 142,000 seeds/kg.

Botanic descriptio

Acacia mangium is a single-stemmed evergreen tree or shrub that grows to 25-35 m in height. Young trees have smooth, greenish bark; fissures begin to develop at 2-3 years. Bark in older trees is rough, hard, fissured near the base, greyish-brown to dark brown, inner bark pale brown. Bole in older trees branchless for up to 15 m, fluted, up to 90 cm in diameter; branchlets acutely triangular. Phyllodes are large up to 25 cm long and 3.5-10 cm broad, 2-5 times as long as wide, straight or straight along 1 side and curved along the other, with 4 (max. 5) main longitudinal veins, secondary veins finely anastomosing; glaborous, pulvinus 6-10 cm long. A gland (extra floral nectary) is conspicuous at the base of the phyllode. Inflorescence is composed of many tiny white or cream flowers in spikes. Flowers are quinqeufloral; the calyx is 0.6-0.8 mm long, with obtuse lobes; corolla 1.2-1.5 mm long. Peduncles are canescent and pubescent, about 1 cm long; rachis is also canescent and pubescent. Pods are broad, linear and irregularly coiled when ripe. They are membranous or slightly woody, inconspicuously veined. 3-5 mm wide and 7-10 cm long. Ripening pods change from green to brown, stiff and dry. Seeds are black and shiny with shape ranging from longitudinal, elliptical, ovate to oblong, 3-5 mm by 2-3 mm. The seeds are arranged longitudinally and attached to the pods by an orange to red folded funicle. The generic name acacia comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning a point or a barb. This acacia was originally described as Mangium montanum Rumph. in Herbarium Amboinense (1750) but changed to an Acacia in 1806. The specific name is an allusion that this tree resembled ‘mangge’ (mangroves in Indonesia).

Products

Food: The germinating seeds can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Fodder: Young shoots and leaves are browsed by buffalo and cattle. Studies indicate they are high in crude protein content but with low in vitro dry matter digestibility.

Fuel: With a calorific value of 4 800-4 900 kcal/kg, A. mangium provides good quality charcoal and is suitable for the manufacture of charcoal briquettes and artificial carbon.

Fibre: The pulp is readily bleached to high brightness levels and is excellent for papermaking. The neutral sulphite semi-chemical pulping of A. mangium gives yields of 61-75%. It is currently grown primarily for pulp and paper in Sabah, Sumatra and Vietnam. Wood also makes excellent particleboard. Timber: A. mangium is an important source of wattle timber; the wood is used for construction, boat building, furniture and cabinet making, and veneer. It makes attractive furniture and cabinets, mouldings, and door and window components. Conversion into veneer and plywood is feasible with no specific processing requirements. It is unsuitable for timber because it contains knots and flutes, has a high incidence of rot and is subject to termite attack. Its density is (min. 450) 530-690 kg/cubic m at 15% mc. Tannin or dyestuff: It has high tannin content (18-39%), justifying commercial exploitation of tannins. Other products: A. mangium sawdust provides a good quality substrate for the lucrative production of shiitake mushrooms.

Fodder: An activated tree metabolism at the beginning of the wet season synthesizes a complex polysaccharide that increases palatability for cattle of the bark. Leaves are used to feed chickens and goats.

Fuel: Widely used for fuelwood and charcoal production in spite of its low density and energy value.

Fibre: P. falcataria trees coppice fairly well, an advantage for pulpwood production. The wood is suitable for pulping and papermaking. It can be used to produce good-quality pulp by mechanical, semi-chemical or chemical processes. Because of its light colour, only a little bleaching is required to achieve good white paper. The neutral, semi-chemical process produces pulp with excellent strength properties. It has also been used for the manufacture of viscose rayon. Timber: The comparatively soft timber is suitable for general utility purposes, such as light construction, furniture, cabinet work, lightweight packing materials and pallets, and chopsticks. Because the wood is fairly easy to cut, P. falcataria is also suitable for wooden shoes, musical instruments, toys and novelties, forms and general turnery. P. falcataria is an important source of veneer and plywood and is very suitable for the manufacture of particleboard, wood-wool board and hardboard and has recently been used for blockboard. Tannin or dyestuff: The bark of P. falcataria has tanning properties.

Elaeis guineensis is a handsome tree reaching a height of 20 m or more at maturity. The trunk is characterized by persistent, spirally arranged leaf bases and bears a crown of 20-40 massive leaves. The root system consists of primaries and secondaries in the top 140 cm of soil. Leaves numerous, erect, spreading to drooping, long, reaching 3-5 m in adult trees; leaf stalks short with a broad base. Spiny, fibrous projections exist along the leaf margins from the leaf sheath, wearing away on old leaves to jagged spines. Leaf blades have numerous (100-160 pairs), of long leaflets with prominent midribs, tapered to a point; arranged in groups or singly along the midrib, arising sometimes in different planes. Male and female inflorescences occur on 1 plant; sometimes a single inforescence contains both male and female flowers. Inflorescences arise among the leaf bases in large, very dense clusters, with innumerable small flowers, enclosed in the bud stage in 2 large fibrous bracts, which finally become deciduous. Male flowers single or in pairs in recesses on the branchlets, each with 3 sepals, 3 petals with edges touching in bud, 6 stamens, and a small, sterile pistil. Female flowers subtended by 2-3 small bracts, with 3 sepals, 3 petals overlapping in bud in a ring of small, sterile stamens, and a 3-celled ovary with 3 spreading stigmas. Fruits borne in bunches. The average weight of each bunch is 23 kg, but a bunch may weigh up to 82 kg. A bunch contains between 200 and 2000 sessile ovoid drupes, 4 cm long and 2 cm broad, with pointed apex. The fruit coat colour varies from yellow to orange or nearly black. Four oil palm varieties have been distinguished on the basis of the fruit structure, especially the thickness of the endocarp: E. g. var. macrocarpa with 40-60% shell, E. guineensis var. dura with 20-40% shell, E. g. var. tenera with 5-20% shell and E. guineensis var. pisifera, a shelless form. The generic name comes from the Greek word ‘elaion’ (oil), referring to the oil extracted from the pa

Products

Food: Palm oil is popular in West Africa and Malaysia for cooking. It is now imported by India to meet local shortages in edible oil, being cheaper than many other vegetable oils. In West Africa, palm oil is often added directly to bring richness to soups and sauces. Addition of oil to cereal preparations greatly increases their calorific density, which is particularly advantageous for young children. Palm oil is also used as frying oil in the preparation of snacks such as bean cakes and fried plantain. Its 10% linoleic acid content makes it an excellent source of carotene. This is important in reducing incidence of vitamin A deficiency and the occurrence of nutritional blindness. Oil palm also provides heart-of-palm. Fodder: Pressed cake is used as cattle feed. Apiculture: The juice from fermenting fruit is collected by bees. The honey is dark amber with an astringent flavour.

Fuel: It is technically possible to produce from palm oil either carbohydrates for conversion to alcohol or a methanolizable oil as a diesel substitute. In Togo, the pressed fruits are dried and fashioned into cakes for cooking fuel. Lipids: Palm kernel oil contains about 50% oil. This oil is used in hard water soaps, the manufacture of glycerin, shampoos and candles. The better grades are used in manufacturing margarine. Alcohol: Palm wine is the delicious wine obtained by tapping the base of the immature inflorescence of the oil palm. Freshly tapped, undiluted and chilled, palm wine is pleasant to drink and is very high in yeast content. The sale of palm wine is considered more profitable than the sale of the fruits and oil.